Gunmen seize 25 girls from boarding school in northwest Nigeria, police report

Gunmen stormed a government-run secondary school in Nigeria’s Kebbi state before dawn on Monday, abducting 25 girls from their dormitories and killing a staff member, according to local police. The attack, which occurred at approximately 4:00 a.m. in the town of Maga, underscores the ongoing threat to students in the country’s northwestern region.

Police spokesperson Nafiu Abubakar Kotarkoshi said the assailants arrived with what he described as “sophisticated weapons,” exchanged fire with security guards stationed at the facility, and swiftly removed the girls from the campus. One employee died during the assault and another sustained injuries.

The abducted students attend the school on a boarding basis, a common arrangement in rural Nigeria where communities are often far from the nearest educational facility. In the immediate aftermath, a joint force of police, military, and local vigilante groups began combing nearby forests and suspected escape routes. Authorities have not disclosed a timeline for the search-and-rescue effort, and no group has claimed responsibility for the kidnapping.

This incident is the most recent in a series of mass abductions targeting schools across northern Nigeria since 2014, the year militant group Boko Haram abducted 276 girls from Chibok in Borno state. While that attack drew worldwide condemnation, nearly 100 of the Chibok students remain missing more than a decade later, highlighting the chronic nature of the threat.

Since the Chibok kidnapping, at least 1,500 students have been abducted in the region, according to figures cited by security officials. Armed groups—often referred to locally as “bandits”—exploit limited government presence in remote areas to raid villages, block highways, and seize schoolchildren for ransom. The sums demanded typically reach thousands of dollars, and payment is frequently a prerequisite for release.

The pattern of school attacks extends across several states. In March 2024, more than 130 pupils held for over two weeks in Kaduna state were freed following a government-led operation. That rescue offered a brief respite but did little to slow the broader trend, as criminal networks continue to view kidnappings as a lucrative means of financing other illicit activities, including control over villages and movement of contraband in mineral-rich zones.

Imagem: imagem internet 3

Kebbi, where Monday’s abduction took place, has experienced sporadic violence attributed to bandit groups migrating from neighboring Zamfara and Niger states. The state government has previously introduced curfews and restricted motorcycle traffic in rural areas, measures officials say are intended to curb the mobility of armed gangs. Those steps, however, have had limited success in deterring attacks on soft targets such as schools.

Education advocates warn that repeated assaults on learning institutions threaten to erode school enrollment in a region already grappling with low attendance rates. International organizations, including UNICEF, have documented rising drop-out numbers as parents withdraw children out of fear for their safety.

As security forces continue their search, families of the abducted girls await updates. Officials have urged residents to share any information that could assist in locating the students but cautioned against vigilantism. The federal government has yet to announce whether it will deploy additional troops or negotiate directly with the kidnappers, tactics it has used variably in past abduction cases.

Crédito da imagem: Associated Press